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Ivy Bernhardson
Originally published in
the September 2007 issue.
Author: Kelly Just Olmstead
Announcing Ivy Bernhardson’s appointment to the bench, Gov. Tim
Pawlenty noted that “our courts are best served by judges who
bring a variety of professional experiences with them to the
bench.” Judge Bernhardson brings a different kind of diversity
to the bench, and her extensive experience in business and
related law will no doubt prove invaluable as she settles into
her role as a Hennepin County judge.
Born in Fargo, North Dakota, Bernhardson moved to
Minnesota as a teenager to attend Gustavus Adolphus College, in
St. Peter, MN. After graduating
magna cum laude, she moved to Southern California to be
with her husband, Mark, a naval officer at the time. When the
two returned to Minnesota, Bernhardson attended the University
of Minnesota Law School, graduating
cum laude.
While Bernhardson remembers “always knowing” that
she wanted to be an attorney, she spent time in college working
as a tour guide for the Betty Crocker Kitchens at General Mills,
Inc. But her legal career was never far from her mind in those
days, so she parlayed her tour guide position into her first
legal job, working as a law clerk for the corporation during law
school.
Bernhardson remained with General Mills for 23
years, gaining immeasurable experience in business, corporate,
and securities law. She played an instrumental role in shaping
the company as we know it today, playing a role in three
public-company spin-offs and the General Mills—Pillsbury
merger. She served many positions with the company over the
years, including associate general counsel and corporate
secretary.
In 2000, Bernhardson became a shareholder with
the law firm of Leonard, Street and Deinard, where she continued
to grow her skills as a business lawyer. She became the first
internal general counsel for the Hazelden Foundation in 2004,
managing major litigation, spearheading a comprehensive legal
risk assessment, upgrading the organization’s governance
structure, and creating charity care policies.
One need not spend much time with Bernhardson to
recognize her abiding commitment to community service. She is
currently on the board of the Bush Foundation, a grantmaking
organization founded by former 3M senior officer Archibald Bush
and his wife, Edyth, in 1953. Among her myriad other
affiliations, she has also served on the Fairview Health
Services Board, the board of the Greater Twin Cities United Way,
and as a trustee for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America’s Board of Pensions. Bernhardson’s conviction in
serving the community is palpable, and she looks forward to
continuing her activities to the greatest extent possible while
on the bench.
Bernhardson’s family also has deep roots in the
Twin Cities community. Her husband is the Bloomington city
manager. Her son, Andrew, a recent graduate of the U.S. Naval
Academy, studies medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical
School. And her daughter, Jenna, a senior at Carleton College,
is the 2007 Minneapolis Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes.
Bernhardson is thrilled to be a member of the
Hennepin County bench and admits contemplating the position for
many years before applying. While she acknowledges the
challenge in the transition from being an advocate to being the
decision maker, she feels that her 20-plus years of experience
as a commercial arbitrator have served her well and helped
prepare her for her new role. Though the learning curve is
steep, she finds the judges around her to be extremely
supportive and helpful. The best advice she has received from
another member of the bench? “Don’t be hasty—if you don’t know
the answer, take the time to find out.”
But, as Bernhardson observed early on in her
judicial training, time can be one of the greatest challenges
facing the Hennepin County court system today. She has
discovered that the volume of cases is staggering, and
protecting a defendant’s right to a speedy resolution of his or
her case requires vigilance and extraordinary organization. She
observes that the logistics are challenging, given the fact that
there are so many moving parts in the process. Bernhardson is
impressed with the machinery that keeps the court moving
expeditiously ahead and looks forward to finding ways to make
the process more efficient for all participants.
Since being appointed to the bench in April 2007,
Bernhardson has been acutely aware of and sensitive to the human
drama that unfolds in each of the criminal cases she hears. She
notes that each case brings a unique human story, and that “you
can’t let anything surprise you.” She explains that her
experiences working with Hazelden were eye-opening, and that she
is now even more cognizant of the issues underlying so many of
the cases in the criminal justice system.
Armed with that experience, Bernhardson
appreciates the challenges she faces in these cases and takes
her responsibility to the litigants in each case to heart. She
recognizes her privilege and familiarity with the legal process
and is particularly sensitive to the fact that those she comes
into contact with may not be similarly situated. She stresses
the need for all participants in the process to communicate
effectively and respectfully. She strives to preserve the
dignity of the proceedings; courtesy is the order of the day in
Bernhardson’s courtroom.
To be a successful judge, Bernhardson will work
to earn and maintain the respect of the people working for the
court, those appearing in court, and her colleagues on the
bench. She places special emphasis on “the need for litigants
to be heard, and for the bench to provide a fair and equitable
forum” for all litigants. She enjoys her teaching role on the
bench and makes every effort to ensure that those appearing
before her understand the proceedings.
Bernhardson offers the following advice to
attorneys appearing in her courtroom: she is not particularly
impressed by aggrandizement and she expects attorneys to fairly
represent the facts and their clients’ positions. She
appreciates a straightforward approach and insists that members
of the bar be fair with their clients and fair with each other.
She values the dominating “culture of respect within the
Minnesota legal community” and seeks to foster that culture
within her courtroom.
When not on the bench or busy with her family and community
service activities, you may find Bernhardson lending her sweet
soprano stylings to her church choir and the Minnesota
Chorale—the Minnesota Orchestra’s principal chorus. She is also
an avid runner who is dedicated to her health. With her
experience and dedication to bettering herself and the legal
community, Judge Bernhardson hits the right note as a member of
the Hennepin County bench.
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